The Merchant of Venice

William Shakespeare

Character List

Themes, Motifs & Symbols

Shylock

Although critics tend to agree that Shylock is The
Merchant of Venice’s most noteworthy figure, no consensus
has been reached on whether to read him as a bloodthirsty bogeyman,
a clownish Jewish stereotype, or a tragic figure whose sense of
decency has been fractured by the persecution he endures. Certainly,
Shylock is the play’s antagonist, and he is menacing enough to seriously
imperil the happiness of Venice’s businessmen and young lovers
alike. Shylock is also, however, a creation of circumstance; even
in his single-minded pursuit of a pound of flesh, his frequent mentions
of the cruelty he has endured at Christian hands make it hard for
us to label him a natural born monster. In one of Shakespeare’s
most famous monologues, for example, Shylock argues that Jews are
humans and calls his quest for vengeance the product of lessons
taught to him by the cruelty of Venetian citizens. On the other
hand, Shylock’s coldly calculated attempt to revenge the wrongs
done to him by murdering his persecutor, Antonio, prevents us from
viewing him in a primarily positive light. Shakespeare gives us
unmistakably human moments, but he often steers us against Shylock
as well, painting him as a miserly, cruel, and prosaic figure.

Portia

Quick-witted, wealthy, and beautiful, Portia embodies
the virtues that are typical of Shakespeare’s heroines—it is no
surprise that she emerges as the antidote to Shylock’s malice. At
the beginning of the play, however, we do not see Portia’s potential
for initiative and resourcefulness, as she is a near prisoner, feeling
herself absolutely bound to follow her father’s dying wishes. This
opening appearance, however, proves to be a revealing introduction
to Portia, who emerges as that rarest of combinations—a free spirit
who abides rigidly by rules. Rather than ignoring the stipulations
of her father’s will, she watches a stream of suitors pass her by,
happy to see these particular suitors go, but sad that she has no
choice in the matter. When Bassanio arrives, however, Portia proves
herself to be highly resourceful, begging the man she loves to stay
a while before picking a chest, and finding loopholes in the will’s
provision that we never thought possible. Also, in her defeat of
Shylock Portia prevails by applying a more rigid standard than Shylock
himself, agreeing that his contract very much entitles him to his
pound of flesh, but adding that it does not allow for any loss of
blood. Anybody can break the rules, but Portia’s effectiveness comes
from her ability to make the law work for her.

Portia rejects the stuffiness that rigid adherence to
the law might otherwise suggest. In her courtroom appearance, she
vigorously applies the law, but still flouts convention by appearing
disguised as a man. After depriving Bassanio of his ring, she stops
the prank before it goes to far, but still takes it far enough to
berate Bassanio and Gratiano for their callousness, and she even
insinuates that she has been unfaithful.

Antonio

Although the play’s title refers to him, Antonio is a
rather lackluster character. He emerges in Act I, scene i as a hopeless
depressive, someone who cannot name the source of his melancholy
and who, throughout the course of the play, devolves into a self-pitying
lump, unable to muster the energy required to defend himself against
execution. Antonio never names the cause of his melancholy, but
the evidence seems to point to his being in love, despite his denial
of this idea in Act I, scene i. The most likely object of his affection
is Bassanio, who takes full advantage of the merchant’s boundless
feelings for him. Antonio has risked the entirety of his fortune
on overseas trading ventures, yet he agrees to guarantee the potentially
lethal loan Bassanio secures from Shylock. In the context of his
unrequited and presumably unconsummated relationship with Bassanio,
Antonio’s willingness to offer up a pound of his own flesh seems
particularly important, signifying a union that grotesquely alludes
to the rites of marriage, where two partners become “one flesh.”

Further evidence of the nature of Antonio’s feelings for
Bassanio appears later in the play, when Antonio’s proclamations
resonate with the hyperbole and self-satisfaction of a doomed lover’s
declaration: “Pray God Bassanio come / To see me pay his debt, and
then I care not” (III.iii.35–36).
Antonio ends the play as happily as he can, restored to wealth even
if not delivered into love. Without a mate, he is indeed the “tainted
wether”—or castrated ram—of the flock, and he will likely return
to his favorite pastime of moping about the streets of Venice (IV.i.113).
After all, he has effectively disabled himself from pursuing his
other hobby—abusing Shylock—by insisting that the Jew convert to
Christianity. Although a sixteenth-century audience might have seen
this demand as merciful, as Shylock is saving himself from eternal
damnation by converting, we are less likely to be convinced. Not
only does Antonio’s reputation as an anti-Semite precede him, but
the only instance in the play when he breaks out of his doldrums
is his “storm” against Shylock (I.iii.132).
In this context, Antonio proves that the dominant threads of his
character are melancholy and cruelty.

-The moon shines bright: in ‘such a night’ as thus.
When the sweet wind did gently kiss the trees.
And they did make no noise.-

It is a genre, in which Shakespeare is a master. For the other great comedy of the world’s literature, the comedy of Moliere or Ben Jonson, is different in kind to his. The play, ‘The Merchant of Venice’, resolves itself purely into a simple form. It illustrates the clash between the emotional and the intellectual characters, the man of heart and the man of brain. The man of heart, Anto... Read more→